Suffering - The Doorway to Heaven

Homily for the 7th Sunday of Easter - Solemnity of the Ascension

The excerpt from the First Letter of St. Peter for the Seventh Sunday of Easter is particularly apt for those of us who are members of CUSA, an apostolate of persons with chronic illness or disability. He writes: “Rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.” Throughout the Easter Season we have been reading from the First Letter of St. Peter and from the Acts of the Apostles. One point that these writings make over and over again is that the apostles rejoiced when they were made to suffer. The reason for their joy was quite simple. Jesus suffered a humiliating death at the hands of his persecutors, but he rose from the dead three days later. The apostles reasoned that if God’s approbation of Jesus’ sufferings precipitated the Resurrection, then they too could count on gaining eternal life by uniting their sufferings with those of their master.

This theme reoccurs frequently in the writings of St. Paul as well. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews also makes the same point when comparing the sacrifice of Jesus to the annual sacrifices offered on the Day of Atonement in the Temple of Jerusalem. As they reflected on the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, the apostles and disciples of Jesus began to realize that when Jesus returned he would bring with him the reward for their sufferings. St. Peter is careful to note that we will be exultant when the glory of Jesus is revealed.

One of the most beautiful hymns sung about and to the Blessed Mother is the Salve Regina. It is in this prayer/hymn that we refer to ourselves as “poor banished children of Eve.” When Jesus returns, we will be banished from heaven no longer leading us to exultant joy.

Depending on where you live in the United States, we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension either last Thursday or today. The Feast of the Ascension is one of those days that CUSANS, indeed all Christians, find most helpful in coming to an understanding of what God is asking of them. As Jesus returns to heaven, we are reminded that this is our destiny as well. As St. Anna Schaeffer wrote from her own sick bed, suffering is the door to heaven. What better reason could there be to rejoice!

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator